


What Was Left Behind

by shesaidnomaam



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Reader-Insert, smuggler reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:34:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29111670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shesaidnomaam/pseuds/shesaidnomaam
Summary: Reader is a former scavenger turned trader and smuggler based in Jakku. A former colleague of sorts and friend, Rey, is searching for an ancient Jedi relic, and a familiar face she can trust. But time can make even the most familiar face look like a stranger.
Relationships: Rey (Star Wars)/Reader
Kudos: 12





	What Was Left Behind

"I'm not finding and then flying a shipload of Acklay. You're out of your mind if you think you'll find someone to locate those **beasts** and bring them here for so little." You began to walk away from the man who clearly sought to waste your time.

"I was hoping my friend would want to help me out."

"Friends don't ask friends to work for crumbs, Kaz-et. You're insulting me."

Kaz-et worked his way in front of you, effectively stopping you in your tracks and blocking your path. "I'll double it," he said.

"You could triple it and it still wouldn't be enough." You pushed past the man despite his cries. You didn't need to entertain the ridiculous, 'We're friends' bullshit. You and Kaz-Et were not friends. He had hired you a few times, and he'd bought some of your loot a few _other_ times. You were business associates, and business associates were never friends. 

You were able to count your actual friends on one hand. Your line of work provided a lot of contacts and acquaintances, but they weren't your _friends_. 

Turning down work wasn't fun; you needed to live, but you knew what Kaz-et's job would entail. You knew what the job was really worth both in credits and your sanity. Smuggling was a fickle realm to work in, but when the time was right you could nab a job that would pay well enough to get you to the next one. Unfortunately, it had been a while since you found yourself so lucky.

"Good to see not everyone's changed."

Her voice was immediately recognizable. It found you like a gust of ice that froze you solid. She didn't rush you as you attempted to register her presence for the first time in years. The friend you'd had; the friend who'd left without a trace, after so long, had returned. 

Slowly, you turned around to face the speaker. She looked similar to the image you'd held onto in your head, but the time apart was evident on her face. She'd changed, though you couldn't pinpoint all of the ways she was different. There was still a light in her eyes, though the light wasn't as hopeful as it once had been. She seemed self-assured and calm. Even the way she stood suggested she'd done a lot of living elsewhere. As you studied her, you nearly missed the handle that was mostly obscured by the cloak she wore. Though your interactions with lightsabers were few and far between, you knew one when you saw one.

"It's true then," you whispered, able to move once more. You walked her back into the alley where she'd spotted you. Your voice was hushed but firm as if you had any business telling an apparent Jedi what to do. "You can't go brandishing that around." She hadn't brandished it exactly, but if you had been able to spot her lightsaber, someone else surely would as well. 

She smiled and held your face in her hands. After years apart, she still touched you with familiarity. She pulled you back down to Jakku, and into her present. It was amazing how quickly she was able to center you and push away your confused concern. 

Your face fell; your reaction hadn't been welcoming. It certainly didn't convey your very real relief. Originally you'd been scared when Rey had announced that she was leaving. She hadn't offered you a reason; she'd simply left. You'd struggled with your feelings about her absence, but seeing your friend alive and presumably well made the other feelings seem distant and foreign. 

"I'm sorry, Rey," you said gently. You looped your arms around her neck and pulled yourselves together. She embraced you with a firm hold. No longer did she smell like metal and sandy dunes. She was scented with spice and something that reminded you of freedom. You wondered where she'd been.

"People came looking for you. They kept coming and then they stopped and I assumed..." You had assumed that they'd found her. And then you'd spent a lot of time and energy trying to bury the sadness you felt. Though you were on a planet where the sun bore down on your every move, Rey had been the light in the dark. Her kindness was often the only kindness you knew.

They never said why they were looking for your friend, a friendly scavenger who made very few enemies. Eventually, the rumors began, that Rey was wrapped up in something big and that she was _someone_ big - a Jedi. Though you knew Rey to be special, you felt that you would have known if your friend was one of _them_. 

"They had a lot of enemies. I wasn't alone when they found me."

That made you feel better. You were glad that Rey hadn't been alone. Though you noticed she'd arrived without a companion.

"What about you?" Rey asked. "Have you been working alone this whole time? I heard you've taken up smuggling."

Rey wasn't judgmental - or at least, she hadn't been before, but you heard disproval in her voice. Or maybe she felt sorry for you. Either way, you didn't like her tone. You didn't want that feeling at your expense.

"I took my ticket off this planet just like you took yours, Rey."

Rey frowned. "You're still here though."

"At the moment," you replied with a shrug. "Haven't made enough to be based anywhere else yet. People here know me so they trust me with their jobs. If I get a foothold in Coruscant, maybe I'll branch out, but they've got their own 'me's out there." You thought you were done defending yourself, but you needed to correct Rey's assumption. "And it's not all smuggling, I'll have you know. I _find_ things for people. Not all of it's illegal."

"I didn't assume it was," Rey replied with a gentle tone like she'd practiced talking to difficult people. "I'm hoping you could make room for another job."

You'd been so caught up trying to convince Rey and _yourself_ that your life was 'fine,' that you hadn't considered why the young woman had returned. Of course, she hadn't come back just to see you and argue with you in an alley. Rey, in her new important station, whatever that was, had a job for you. 

You were intrigued, and you had too many unanswered questions to let Rey walk away without so much as a conversation. "Let's go sit down somewhere. Keep that hidden." You motioned to Rey's belt. 

Adjusting her robe, Rey said, "You'd be surprised to know that most people ignore it completely. When they're not looking for it, they don't see it."

"You know these people will see it."

"They do see anything worth a few credits, don't they?" 

* * *

Rey didn't tell you much. She deflected by asking about you. It was hard to know if she cared or if she didn't want to tell you anything about her life for the past few years. 

"If you're not going to tell me where you've been, at least start talking about this job."

She looked sheepish, like she thought, mistakenly, that you hadn't caught on to her dodging skills. 

"I came because I needed someone that has connections," she started. "I need someone who doesn't make a scene or chase glory when time is on the line. And more importantly, I need someone that I can trust."

You leaned forward so that only Rey could hear you speak. The cantina had ears everywhere. "Are you in trouble, Rey?" you asked.

Rey shook her head and you relaxed for a moment despite not really having any answers. "No, but this _thing_ cannot fall into the wrong hands. I need someone who can help me find it before someone else even knows to look for it."

"Is this in any way related to the..." Your eyes wandered down toward the lightsaber to finish your sentence. 

"Yes," Rey admitted flatly. She seemed more direct than you remembered despite the fact that she'd been wasting your time moments before. "As I said, I need someone I can trust but someone who can find things in the outer planets. There's not a lot of crossover there. In fact, I'd say you're the only one who fits that very narrow description."

Her smile was the same. The way you felt about her smile was the same too. It made you feel better. No matter how poorly or how wonderfully you felt, her smile always made the moment better. It was infectious even when she was trying to lure you into what you assumed was a dangerous ruin.

"I want to know where you've been, Rey," you confessed. Much to your surprise, she nodded.

"And I'll tell you on the way."

"On the way? You're coming with me?"

"If it's anything like I think it could be, you won't make it alone."

There was something _off_ to you, but you couldn't formulate the thought and you certainly couldn't articulate it aloud. You needed more information, and if she were anyone else you would have demanded it, but she was Rey and you'd missed her. You'd missed her, you'd been angry with her, and you had struggled to mourn her, so you weren't going to have any sense of closure if she left without you. 

"Okay," you said. "But you're not getting a discount."

"Of course not. Friends don't ask friends to work for crumbs," she said.

"How long were you following me?"

"Just for the morning."

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, this was written for my Tumblr @shesaidnomaam. I had readers answer a survey, and I planned series based on the results (what genres people want to see, what characters and pairings). Rey is the first of eight new series. Check out my Tumblr for more information!


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